


Wait, We Aren't Dating?

by Justletmein



Category: Dr. STONE (Anime), Dr. STONE (Manga)
Genre: Getting Together, Idiots in Love, M/M, Romantic Comedy, english isn't my first language, no beta we die like variously gendered people
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-23 19:47:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30060621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Justletmein/pseuds/Justletmein
Summary: In which Senku believes that he has been dating Gen since the observatory.
Relationships: Asagiri Gen & Ishigami Senkuu, Asagiri Gen/Ishigami Senkuu
Comments: 18
Kudos: 167





	Wait, We Aren't Dating?

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, it's been a while! You know how it's always Gen confessing to Senku and believing that he rejected him when in reality he has no idea? Well, I wanted to try doing the opposite thing. I'm not entirely satisfied with the result, but something is better than nothing, right?
> 
> Hope you enjoy it and have fun! 💞
> 
> [Versión en español](https://archiveofourown.org/works/30060618)

“Come to think of it, ever since the beginning… since before I met you, I’ve been rather fond of you, Senku-chan, setting aside personal gains.” As if gifting him an observatory wasn’t enough, Gen had to go and make his confession right there in front of everyone.

Senku wasn’t one to beat around the bush, quite the contrary, but what was he supposed to answer?

‘Yeah, I guess I like you too’?

_Lame._

However, before he could think of something better, Gen continued: “I’m sure it’s the same for the other villagers.” Great way disguise it, but he still didn’t know what to answer. “You might say that’s cringy, though.”

Senku smiled, grateful that the mentalist gave him an easy way to confirm that he shared his feelings without being overly corny nor dramatic.

“Yeah, that’s cringy.”

***

If he was being honest, he had felt a little nervous with the idea of dating Gen. After all, they had a war to win and they certainly didn’t have time for those kind of things. However, he was also aware that there was no point in denying that he actually liked that bastard and that pretending that he didn’t would probably bring more harm than good. As a result, he concluded that the most logical thing to do was to accept Gen’s confession and hope that dating wouldn’t affect their already busy schedule too much.

Turns out it didn’t.

Gen continued to act the same as usual. He could always find him close by, except when he needed extra hands for labor, and talk his ear off about his plans. They were still sleeping in separate futons, which was fine considering they also shared room with Chrome and it would be awkward otherwise.

He wasn’t even more affectionate. No disgustingly sweet pet names, besides the usual ‘Senku-chan’, no attempts to hug him or hold his hand… Not a single kiss. Nothing.

And he was grateful for that… at first.

The lack of it was gradually becoming a distraction on itself. Was Gen waiting for him to take the initiative? Or was he just doing it on purpose to annoy him? Knowing him, both options were equally possible.

Whichever it was, he wouldn't give in easily. It wasn’t that he was shy nor anything like that. They simply had more important things to do.

***

“Hey, don't you think Senku-chan has been acting a little strange lately?” Gen asked once Senku left to work on some blueprints with Kaseki and Chrome.

It was the first time, at least since he had realized it, that he could be apart from the scientist. For some reason, he had begun to request his presence more often, even when Gen had little to nothing to contribute to whatever he was doing. Of course, he liked being around Senku when he worked, it made him curious and he always answered all his doubts. However, it was usually him who decided to approach, not Senku calling him out or even dragging him away, like that one time he pretended for him to understand his instructions for that… toothpaste?

“Hah? What are you talking about?” Kohaku asked as Suika turned to look at him curiously.

“Well, he…” How could he explain it? “He doesn't seem to want to let me be alone for a minute.”

“Didn't he just left with Kaseki and Chrome?” Suika pointed out.

“Yes, but it's only a matter of time before he…”

“Mentalist, what are you doing there slacking? We have work to do,” Senku interrupted, just as expected, although he was a little surprised that he had finished talking to Chrome and Kaseki so quickly.

Gen gave the pair an exasperated look before answering: “Coming, Senku-chan~”

As he walked away, resigned to his fate as lab assistant, he heard Kohaku tell Suika: “Doesn't he realize that his boyfriend just wants to spend more time with him?”

He sighed. Why did he thought they could be of any help?

***

“Ishigami Senku and Asagiri Gen will go to hell together.” Man, Gen was restless. What was that supposed to mean now? It almost sounded that marriage vows but they were too busy for that. Not to mention the fact that they’ve barely started dating.

And yet, he found himself smiling, words flowing easily out of his mouth.

Gen told him his plan, which was, as he expected, brilliant. It was funny how surprised he was when he easily agreed to it, but it also made him feel the need to tell him, as sentimental as it might sound, how much he trusted in him.

Lucky Chrome interrupted.

***

The decision to make Gen the driver of both the car and the tank were merely because he was the only one with license. It most definitely wasn’t an attempt to keep him as close and safe as he could, which at the same time had nothing to do with how worried he had been when Gen left to deliver the phone to Yuzuriha and Taiju. Nope. Not at all.

Besides, it didn't matter anymore. They had won the war or, at least, negotiated a ceasefire. He was grateful that Gen also convinced Tsukasa to wait until tomorrow to search for Mirai. After all, there were injured that needed to be taken care of first, though thankfully none in serious condition, and certainly everyone could use a break, Senku included.

Once he was sure that everything was in order, or as in order as he could be, Senku decided (or rather Gen did) that he could take a break from his duties as village chief to get clean. He should have known that upon returning he would find the village celebrating the end of the war.

The atmosphere was upbeat, Lillian's music was playing in the background and you could smell both food and alcohol circulating. Surprisingly, he was able to identify some members of the former Empire of Might chatting animatedly, both among themselves as well as with some members of the village. It didn't take him long to find Kohaku and Ruri, who seemed to be having a conversation with Nikki, surely marveling at the resemblance the two sisters shared with Lillian. He passed by Chrome, who was asking Ukyo questions about modern times, and stopped to greet Yuzuriha and Taiju. However, his gaze kept searching until he finally stopped at the mentalist, who was together with Suika narrating what had happened to a group of children and elders.

Yuzuriha was quick to notice this, a soft smile spreading across her face: “So… Gen-kun?”

Taiju gave her a confused look, before turning to Senku for an explanation. He just smiled.

"Ah, is it really that obvious?" He asked, not bothering to give Taiju an explanation. He would eventually understand what they were talking about.

Yuzuriha nodded, though she then seemed to reconsider and shook her head.

“Yes, but not at first glance,” she tried to explain, smiling. “Have you already told him how you feel?”

“It wasn't necessary," he replied, laughing at her surprised expression. “He confessed on my birthday.”

“He...? You are dating?!” Taiju finally connected the dots and jumped for a hug. This time Senku was unable to dodge it. “Ah, I am so happy for you, Senku!”

“Yeah, yeah... let go of me, Big Oaf. I can't breathe!” Of course, all that commotion caught the attention of the mentalist, who gave them a curious look.

***

“Is everything alright-yay?” Gen asked when he felt all their eyes on him.

Taiju let go of Senku, who immediately took a deep breath, and started running towards Gen, arms outstretched.

“Congratulations!”

“E-eh?” Gen soon found himself being lifted off the ground and squeezed into a painful hug. He understood that Taiju was happy for the end of the war and being able to be next to his best friend again... but what did he have to do with it?!

“Let hi go, you're going to break him," Senku scolded him, although he couldn't help but smile at the scene.

Fortunately for Gen, Taiju listened and released him. Leaving Gen staggering as soon as his feet touched solid ground.

“Come with me,” Senku said taking him by the arm, an action that almost seemed to be an act of mercy to help him regain his balance, until he began to walk away from the couple. “Are you enjoying the party?” He asked after releasing his arm.

“Absolutely,” Gen replied, recovered enough to give him a satisfied smirk. It was more than evident that he had been behind it.

“Not bad, Mentalist.”

“This was all Kokuyo-chan's doing.”

“Sure thing,” he said, grimacing when he saw that Gen had already tucked his hands under his sleeves.

Gen didn't really understand what was his problem. He had had that habit for a long time and, for that matter, Senku had worse ones, like picking his nose and his ear.

“Okay, you win,” Senku said, earning a questioning look from Gen, especially when he saw him extend his hand.

“What are you talking about?”

“Are you really going to make me ask for it?” He asked annoyed, his face taking a reddish tone.

_Had he been drinking?_

"It will be necessary if you want me to understand what you want," Gen said, because if he was honest, he had no idea.

Senku sighed in exasperation.

“Just give me your hand.”

Gen didn't bother to hide his confusion, but he still obeyed, overcome by curiosity. He waited to see what Senku would do next. Maybe some experiment that required… hands? He had no idea, but Senku had a tendency of saying the most unexpected things and for them to make sense in the end.

However, the only thing that happened was that Senku took his hand and continued walking, looking away instead of giving him an explanation of what he was up to.

“So… Senku-chan, where are we going exactly?” He asked, realizing that they had already gotten quite far away from the boisterous party, entering the forest.

Senku finally stopped, standing in front of him and taking his other free hand in his.

***

Senku guessed this was a good moment. The celebratory atmosphere after the end of the war gave him the pause he needed to finally take that step in their relationship. He knew they'd be busy afterwards, there was still a lot to do if they wanted to return civilization to its former glory, but he felt it was okay if they took some time for the two of them tonight.

“Can I?” He asked, his voice sounding slightly anxious to his own ears. Anyone else wouldn't have noticed, but it was Gen he was talking to.

“If there's anyone who can do it, it's you,” Gen assured him as a small smile spread across his face.

It didn't escape Senku that he was probably remembering the time he asked for a cola in exchange for his loyalty. While he wasn't one for sentimentalities, he couldn't help but find it quite appropriate for the moment. The beginning of their alliance. They really had come a long way since then.

It was certainly all he needed to hear. With renewed confidence, he smiled back at him and finally leaned for a kiss.

It’s a shame he closed his eyes before he could notice Gen’s confused expression.

“What-what was that?!” Gen asked pushing him away.

“A… kiss?” Senku answers, clearly confused by the reaction.

“I know that, but-but… why?!” Was he kidding?

“You said I could!”

“I thought you were talking about saving Mirai-chan.”

“Huh?” He analyzed Gen's expression, noting how red and agitated he was. It wasn’t a joke. “I’m… sorry?”

“You should be! What were you even thinking?!”

“What was I-? Gen, you’re my boyfriend, of course I want to kiss you.” He said bluntly.

“I’m-I’m your _what_ now?”

_What?_

“Stop playing dumb.”

“I’m not! We aren’t-!” Gen took a deep breath, evidently in an attempt to calm himself down. “Where did you even get that idea from?”

“You confessed to me during my birthday.”

“I-I didn’t!” Gen exclaimed, his face completely red.

“You didn’t?”

“No!”

Senku was silent for a moment, processing the new information. So all this time Gen had done those things because… Because what? Something most definitely didn’t make sense.

“Then why did you give me an observatory?”

“It was a thank you gift from the whole village, not just me!”

“But you orchestrated everything. You even went through the trouble of calculating my birthday, who the hell does that?”

“W-well...” Senku raised an eyebrow, watching the mentalist lost for words for once.

This was interesting.

“Not to mention what you said that day.”

“That-that... I just said I admired you!”

“Sounded like a confession to me.” In fact, he had been convinced that it was and now, despite the initial discomfort, he was beginning to suspect that indeed that had been the case... only that Gen himself hadn’t realized it.

Well, there was also the possibility that Gen had honestly done it out of admiration, in the name of friendship or something like that, and that now he was simply nervous about the misunderstanding...

He would have to find it out somehow.

“Well-well, you see… I don't,” but Gen wouldn't be so nervous about a misunderstanding like that. He would laugh, maybe even tease him a little bit, but instead he seemed to be seriously considering running away from him. He could only hope he didn't because he knew it would be impossible for him to catch him up.

“Aha, what about going to hell together? Anyone would think those were wedding vows.” He smiled in amusement at Gen's scandalized expression.

“We-wedding vows?! That was not my intention at all!”

“Are you sure?” Once again, Gen didn't seem to know what to answer. It was too strange that it happened once, but twice in the same night confirmed his suspicions. “Gen, you like me, don't you?”

“Of-of course, you are our dearest leader, after all...”

“You know I don't mean that,” he interrupted with a grimace, taking him by the wrist in case he tried to escape after what he was going to say: “I like you and you like me, isn't that enough?”

“Wait, you like me?”

“Didn't I just tell you that I thought we had been dating for months?” Was he serious?

Gen, putting his initial embarrassment aside, made a thoughtful gesture.

“Well, maybe you agreed because it seemed like the most convenient thing to do or to…”

“... not hurt your feelings? Since when am I that considerate?”

“Fair point,” he conceded, putting his free hand on his chin. “And what about the other?”

“In what way would _that_ be convenient?”

“Well, I consider myself to be quite useful as an ally and taking into account that I betrayed Tsukasa-chan before, maybe you thought that I would do the same to you if you rejected me.”

“Would you do it?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No, I mean, where would I go? It's not like I could to return to Tsukasa-chan after what I did to him and on my own I would be dead for certain.”

“Aren't you going to say something like that you care about me and even if I rejected you, you would never seek to hurt me?”

“I figured you'd rather save yourself from that kind of thing.”

“You know me well,” he smiled, noticing the slight blush on his cheeks. “Well, except, of course, for the fact that you didn't notice the most obvious answer.”

“That you simply accepted my pseudo-confession because you liked me?” Senku nodded. “You have to admit that the other two options were more credible.”

“And yet the reality turns out to be different.”

Gen directed a glance at his hand, which continued to hold his wrist. Sure, if it was about strength, Gen could still break free and run, but Senku hoped the gesture was enough to convince him not to.

“And now?”

“You tell me.”

“You have been thinking that we were dating for months and only now you realize that it is not like that. Shouldn't you feel sad?”

“No, I just feel motivated to do things right this time,” he smiled confidently.

Gen turned his face away from him, trying to keep his look pensive despite the slight blush on his cheeks.

“What if it's not how you imagined? That is, until now everything was the same as always just because I was ignorant of our ‘relationship’. What if things are different now?”

“I admit that worried me a little before, but... different could be good,” he confessed, this time feeling the heat on his own face at the smile the mentalist gave him.

“I see~ Well, maybe this misunderstanding was beneficial after all.” Gen had finally gotten over the confusion and shyness, returning to being the same annoying mentalist as always. He was lucky that Senku liked every facet of him.

“Seriously? And how is that?”

“Very simple, Senku-chan. It served to get you acclimated to the idea.”

“I suppose that's one way of looking at it… but for it to be really beneficial, the ‘idea’ would have to become a reality, right?”

“Mm, it's true…” He said, pretending to think about it. After all, he could never make things easy for him. “Wouldn't it be a shame if I rejected you? I mean, you had your time to process this, but for me it’s all very sudden.”

“I'm ten billion percent sure you won’t.”

Gen smiled at him, closing the distance between them until his lips were inches apart from his.

“So, can I?” He definitely didn't need time to process anything if he was already willing to laugh at the misunderstanding.

Despite the irritation at the clear mockery of his words, Senku felt more than willing to give in, already tired of running around in circles so much. However, an idea crossed his mind and he couldn't help but smile in amusement before answering: “No.”

“Eh?” His expression of surprise and confusion would never cease to please him.

“I don't think you can save Mirai. You're a mentalist, not-” He didn't mind being interrupted by Gen's lips.

“Stop laughing,” Gen muttered when they parted, making a face that intended to be annoyed, but Senku could tell that he also wanted to laugh. Everything in this situation must have been extremely ridiculous to him.

“I can't help it,” he said, before releasing his wrist to take his face in his hands and bring it closer to his, leaning so that his forehead was against his and their noses were lightly brushing. “I feel happy,” he admitted in a low voice, getting a smile in response.

“I can see it,” he laughed, but there was a certain softness in his voice that Senku rarely got the chance to hear. “Me too.”

“If you're done, could you take Suika to bed? I have to make sure that Magma doesn't break anything else,” Kohaku's voice interrupted, causing both of them to jump apart. How long had she been standing there?!

“Of-course, Kohaku-chan,” Gen replied quickly, while Senku gave her a glare.

“Wait, what do you mean by breaking ‘something else’?” Kohaku didn’t answer, retreating in direction from where the shouting of an obviously drunk Magma were coming from. The fact that neither of them had noticed them until then spoke volumes.

“We'd better go get Suika-chan,” Gen said starting to walk, stopping when he felt Senku take his hand. He smiled. “Who would have thought that you would be so affectionate?”

“Just shut up and keep walking,” he said, stepping forward, but Gen could see the red on his neck and ears.

He hoped to be more observant from now on.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please, don’t hesitate to let me know what you think! 😊  
> You can also reach me on [Tumblr](https://fieryjeanne.tumblr.com/), [Twitter](https://twitter.com/fieryjeanne) and [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/fieryjeanne/) as @fieryjeanne  
> Have a great day! ✨


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